What to Tell Consumers in Waits of Different Lengths: An Integrative Model of Service Evaluation

Abstract

The authors conduct an experimental study to examine the impact of two types of waiting information - waiting-duration information and queuing information - on consumers' reactions to waits of different lengths. The authors test a model that includes three different constructs - perceived waiting duration, acceptability of the wait, and affective response to the wait - as mediators between waiting information and service evaluation. Results show that though acceptability of the wait and affective response to the wait have a significant mediating effect on the relationship between waiting information and service evaluation, perceived waiting duration does not. Moreover, neither type of information has significant impact in the short-wait condition, whereas waiting-duration information has greater impact than queuing information in the intermediate-wait condition and a smaller impact in the long-wait condition. The authors conclude with a discussion of research and managerial implications.